Professor Gabilondo raises a question made possible only by technology--the consequences of being able to choose the sexual reorientation of a baby. In a world in which choices are already being made about the sex of infants to be conceived and brought to term, the question has a number of interesting eddies and ramifications.

2 comments:

Thanks for the posting, Larry. It also raises the interesting question about the connection between gay rights and abortion rights. Many people view the two rights as tied together (primarily because of the Roe v. Wade line of cases leading to Lawrence), but what about the decision to abort a fetus because the mother finds out, through genetic testing, that the fetus is gay?

Great comment Peter. I think the issue poses one of those perverse conflicts of values for people made uncomfortable by difference--what do they despise more: abortion or the certainty that they will breed sexual non-conformist children. I suspect that if traditional social values hold sway, the public face of the debate will condemn both, and privately many people will have a bottle of RU 486 and a compliant doctor handy.